Glove-cleaning machine.



A. R. CURTIS.

GLOVE CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19. 19M.

Patented Feb. 5,1918.

A. R. CURTIS.

GLOVE CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILKD FEB. 19. 19M.

Patented .FeIo. 5,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/fifl M I HEEL firro/emrtys ARTHUR R. CURTIS, OE CLEVELAND, OHIO.

GLOVE-CLEANING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, lldld.

Application filed February 19, 1914. Serial 1-'.To(819,732.

contemplated applying that principle,so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

'lhe'present improvements relate to cleaning machines adapted for use in cleaning gloves or similar articles in a suitable cleaning solution such as gasolene and liquid soap. In this type of machines the cleaning action is secured by the movement of the articles to be cleaned through the cleaning solution which'loosens and softens the dirt on the articles, and by the rubbing of the articles against suitable brushes which are placed in the solution and are mechanically operated in difierent ways. It is customary to provide one or more fixed brushes in the solution, and to move over these fixed brushes other movable brushesin different ways, although the action of the movable brushes is usually a rotatable one. The difiiculty in this method of procedure is that the gloves are formed into balls or wads by the action of the moving brush, subjecting them to injury and preventing thorough cleaning.

in the present invention 1 have provided a construction which permits of the rapid cleaning of the gloves without injury, and which automatically prevents the rolling of the gloves into large masses, thus preventing injury to the same. In addition to this feature, I have provided means which permit of convenient removal of the gloves when cleaned and of the brushes for cleaning the latter. Other means have been provided which permit of an adjustment of the pressure of the brushes upon the gloves, which should of course be varied according to the type of gloves being cleaned and to the number of gloves in the machine. To the accomplishmentof the foregoing and re lated ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail ccrtainmechanism embodying the invention, such disof various mechanicalforms in which the principle of the invention may be .used.

In said annexed drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine having the casing partially cut away to show the brushes; Fig.2 is a top plan view of the casing with the upper brush removed, a portion of the casing being cut away to show the'driving connections; Fig. is a central vertical section through the machine; Fig. 4. is'a side elevation of a por tion of the two brushes showing the action of the same on the gloves; Fig. 5 is a partial side elevation showing the method of removal of the fixed brush by means of an improved tool, which I have provided for the purpose; Figs. 6 and 7 are partial side elevations illustrating slightly modified types of brushes which may be used; and Fig. 8 is a section on the line 88 in Fig. 3.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a suitable stand or support 1 upon which is mounted a cas ing 2, preferably of cylindrical form, and vertically disposed, such casing being open at its upper end and being provided centrally in its lower end with an aperture 3.

Upon the closed end 4: of the casing about such aperture there is mounted an upstanding flange 5 disposed concentrically within the walls of the cylinder and. extendingto substantially the same level as the top of the same, thus forming an annular space between the sides of the cylinder 2 and the flange 5.

Supported upon the rim of the circular flange 5 is a centrally apertured cover plate d5 having a depending flange Mi, said cover plate forming a bearing for aro'tatal'ily mounted hollow shaft- 4l7 which is similarly mounted at its lower end in a second bearing formed by a flange 48 on a bottom cover plate 4:9. Attached to said hollow shaft are two spaced shoulders 10, the shaft being hollow between such shoulders. Removably mounted upon the upper end of the rod 6 is a frame 50 having radially and downwardly extending arms '7 attached to a brush 8 which is disposed horizontally, being provided on its lower surface with suitable bristles 9. The frame 50 bearing said brush h as'two apertures disposed to fit snugly and slidably over such shoulders 10, thus locking said frame 50 non-rotatably to said hol- 7 brush 8.

' The brush 8 fits slidably between the inner and outer walls of the cylinder and is made up of a plurality of segmental portions ll'which are disposed as shown in Fig. 2, thus forming an annular brush, the adjacent portions being slightly spaced to provide slots or openings 12 between .the same. The segmental portions are main tained in such relation by means of annular ribs or rings 13 of which there are two, one placed adjacent the outer edge of the assembled brush, and the other adjacent the inner edge.

On the bottom of the casing there are mounted a plurality oflugs 14, preferably three, and upon the bottom there is placed a second brush 15 which may be termed a fixed brush, as it does not move, although it is removable and is held in position merely by the engagements of the lugs let in the slots 12 formed in the brush, this second brush being constructed as is the brush 8 already described,'being made up of segmental portions 11 held together by means of annular rings 13; The shaft 47 is adapted to be oscillated by means of an arm 16 pivotally attached to the shaft at a point slightly below the bottom of the casing, the other end of such arm being eccentrically at tached to a disk 17, suchdisk 17 being driven by a pulley 18 attached thereto and operated from any suitable source of power. The rod 6 is disposed in asubstanti ally vertical position in the shaft 47 and is reciprocably mounted, its lower'end 19 being pivotally attached to a link 20 which is slidably mounted over a horizontal cross-bar 21 forming one of the cross-bars of the base or support 1.

A foot-lever 22 is pivotally mounted upon a stud 23 projecting from another of the cross-bars of the base, the stud being parallel with the cross-bar 21 to which the link 20 is slidably connected. This foot lever 22 is pivotally connected at its outer end to the link 20 at a point intermediate the previously mentioned points of attachment of the latter. By moving the outer end of the foot lever 22 from the position shown in full lines (Fig. 1) to the position shown in dotted lines, the rod 6 is raised substantially vertically, although there is a slight oscillation of the same, thus raising up the frame carrying the upper of the two brushes 8 until it is above the top of the casing. The latter is normally closed by a suitable cover 21 which is removably mounted thereon. It will be evident that the cover 24 is so constructed and positioned that it will be contacted by the upper brush 8 when being lifted, the further movement of such brush raising the cover from the casing. This operation is secured by a pressure of the operators foot upon the pedal 22, thus leav- 7 ing his hands unengaged, so that he can reach into the casing and collect and remove the gloves therein. This is by far the most convenient arrangement in this particular and one made possible by the construction already described. The latter may be held in such raised position by means of a pawl 26 engaging a notched bar 27 mounted upon the base, the pawl being pivotally attached. to the foot lever 22 as indicated. when the cover 2 1 and the upper brush are in such raised position, it is possible to conveniently reach in and remove the gloves which will be found lying upon the lower brush. This can be done very easily without entirely re moving the cover and the upper brush from the shaft, as there is a suflicient space between the edge of this brush and the top of the cylindrical casing.

It is not always suflicient in a cleaning machine of this type to merely provide two brushes, one fixed and the other oscillatory, for cleaning the gloves, as such a construction does not prevent the rolling up of the gloves into balls during the operation. I have found that asimple method of preventing any such balling of the gloves consists in mounting the bristles 9 in the upper or oscillatory brush at an acute angle to one of the directions of movement of said brush. Thus it will be seen from Figs. 1 and .4; that the bristles 9 in the lower or lived brush 15 are mounted in the usual manner at right angles to the surface of the brush, although they may be inclined slightly to the left, while the bristles in the upper brush are mounted at a slight angle, preferably about 60, in the direction of movement of said brush during one of its oscillatory movements. The action which is thus secured may be de scribed as follows, reference being had to Fig. 4. If it is assumed that a certain bunching action has taken place among the gloves disposed between the brushes, and

that a bunch 30 of substantially the same size as that shown in Fig. l has been formed, itwill be seen that upon n'iovement of the brush in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4, the bristles 9 in the upper brush 9 will have but a slight feeding action upon the glovesin this bunch, since the bristles are inclined suiiiciently to drag over the gloves and not to engage the same with any force.

llll) "Upon the movement of the brush in the opposite direction, each bristle in the upper rush engages the top glove of such bunch with a certain resilient force secured by the positioning of the bristles at this angle.

gloves and preventing any increase in the size of the bunch. Upon the return of the brush after such action the gloves are not brought back into the bunch, since the bristles have less effective force in moving the gloves. In this way any bunches that may form between the brushes are continuously broken up by the oscillation of the brush having bristles disposed in the manner described.

It must be understood that while I have here used the word bunch for convenience, I mean by this word in the present connection not the tightly rolled ball of gloves to be found in most machines of this character, but merely what may better be termed a congested portion of the entire number of gloves in the casing. In the presentinvention the constant differential feeding action serves to prevent the formation of an actual bunch although the gloves do tend to congregate at some points and leave other spaces substantially free from gloves. By the feeding action of the brushes these dense areas are thinned by the scattering of the uppermost gloves and this prevents the formation of any actual bunch, as the term is understood in the trade. The bunch shown in Fig. 4 is of course exaggerated for the purpose of illustrating the brush feeding action, as no bunch of this size can be formed in. the present machine.

In Fig. 6 I show an upper brush having bristles standingat a slightly different angle than that of the bristles in the previous figures, it being a matter of indifference as to the precise angle at which they are set. Similarly, the bristles in the lower brush may be inclined slightly as indicated in Fig.

7 and if they are sufliciently inclined the bristles in the upper brush may be straight or nearly so, the feeding action being secured by the inclined bristles in the lower brush. For practical reasons I prefer the bristle arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 4, in which the bristles of the upper brush are inclined while those of the lower brush are straight.

I The lint and dirt settle mostly in the lower brush and it is much easier to clean the same when the bristles are at right angles to the brush surface, thus making this the type to be preferred under ordinary conditions.

It is obvious that a pressure between the brushes which is suitable for one type of materialis too great ortoo ,littlefor other softer or tougher materials, and it is desirable that means of adjustment for this pressure he provided. Normally the weight of the upper brush 8, together with the frame to which it is attached is sufiicient for cleaning purposes, this weight being lessened by the buoyancy of the upper brush which is of :course operating beneath the surface of the cleaning liquid. Additional weight may be given to the brush, and hence an additional pressure be put on the gloves, by placmg weights 31 upon the top ofthe frame which engages between the shoulders 10 formed on the oscillatory shaft 47, such weights being formed as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. A sufficient number of weights may be addedto give practically any desired pressure upon the gloves. I provide means for lessening the normal pressure due to the weight of the upper brush upon the gloves by providing a frame or weight-receiving platform 32 upon the outer end of the foot lever 22 upon which may be placed the same weights 31 that are used'upon the frame attached. to the upper brush. The placing of weights '31 upon the outer end of the foot lever tends to raise the rod 6 and will raise the same when the effective force of these weights equals the weight of the upper brush plus the weight of the shaft. lVhen equilibrium is reached the upper brush will merely float in the cleaning solution and will exert practically no pressure upon the gloves therein. It is sometimes desirable to relieve all the weight of the upper brush and to permit it to float in the solution near the top of the same. In this way a gentle, cleaning action is secured, the gloves moving about in the solution and rubbing against the brushes but without great pressure, as is desirable with certain classes of gloves.

Considerable trouble has been met within cleaning machines of this type by reason of the largeamount of lint which is removed from the gloves by the cleaning action. This lint settles at the base of the bristles and after aconsiderable time clogs up the brush so that it exerts practically no cleaning ac tion. It is necessary, in order to keep the brushes clean to remove the same at frequent intervals and to then pick out what lint is embedded at the base of the bristles, and it is for this purpose principally that each of the two brushes have been made removable. The construction of the upper brush has also been designed with a view to removing as much as possible of this lint by the mere action of raising the upper brush from the liquid. The cleaning solution stands several inches above the top of the upper brush 8, and if the latter is pulled quickly out of the casing 2 through the solution the latter would normally tend to run down over the outer edge of this brush. By constructing the brush in segments 11 and by leaving spaces or'slots 12 between each two segments I- provide numerous passages for the escape of the liquid during the raising of the brush. I prevent the escape of the liquid over the outer and inner edges of the brush by the annular rings 13 placed adjacent to each edge, thus forcing theliquid to pass down- .ward through the slots, which action removes a considerable part of the lint which has been deposited in the bristles adjacent thereto. The bristles are so disposed that a continuous surface is presented as will be evident from Figs. 2 and 3. The bristles adjacent to the slots are spaced slightly differlow the solution on top of the brush to drain off through the slots.

The lower brush may be cleaned in the same manner by means of the tool L0 shown in Fig. 5. Two of these tools are passed down in the slots 12 in the fixed brush 8 where they engage beneath the annularrings 13, thus permitting the fixed brush to be raised until out of the cleaning solution. It is then reversed and moved through the cleaning solution several times in order to separate out as much of the lint as is possible in the same way that the upper brush is acted. upon.

In using annular disk brushes of the present type it is essential to successful operation that a certain minimum movement be given to each portion of the brush. The reason for this can best be shown by an explanation of the action of the brushes on a single glove placed therebetween. Upon the first movement of the brush, the glove is rolled up on itself to some extent, the fingers being rolled;

up on the palm or the like. It is essential that the moving brush have a greater movement than is necessary to merely produce this rolling movement of the glove, as otherwise the glove is given no movement over the fixed brushr The several features of the machine to which I call particular attention are the disposition and construction of the driving mechanism which is so arranged that the machine may be readily opened for purposes of inspection and cleaning, and the construction ofthe brushes and the movement given to the same which features combine to afford convenient efiicient operation.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of 1 the one explained, change being made as regardsthe mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention 1. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination with a casing adapted to contain a cleaning solution; of two annular disk brushes mounted in said casing in a parallel relation, one of said brushes being oscillatory with respect to the other, and one of said two brushes having bristles inclined at less than right angles to the plane of said brush, such inclined bristles being operated, upon oscillation of said. oscillatory brush, to resiliently feed the material placed between said brushes in one direction; and means adapted to cause oscillatory movement of one of said brushes with respect to the other.

2. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination with an annular casing adapted to contain a cleaning solution; of an annular disk brush mounted in said casing; a second disk brush oscillatorily mounted opposite said first-named brush and having bristles inclined to the plane of the same; means adapted to oscillate said last-named brush; the distance through which the innermost portion of said oscillatorily mounted brush travels being greater than the travel sullicient to produce a rolling action on gloves placed between said brushes.

3. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination with a cylindrical casing open at one end and provided with a central aperture in its closed end; a flange mounted about such aperture within said casing; a brush mounted upon the closed end of said casing; an operating shaft extending within said flange through such aperture; and a second brush removably mounted on, and driven by, said shaft, said last-named brush being within said casin a. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination with a cylindrical casing open at one end and provided with a central aperture in its closed end; a flange mounted about such aperture within said casing; a brush removably mounted upon the closed end of said casing; an oscillatory shaft extending within said flange through such aperture; a second brush removably mounted on, and driven by, said shaft, said last-named brush being within said casing; and means adapted to variously position said second brush vertically.

In a glove cleaning machine, the combination of a cylindrical casing open at one end and provided with a central aperture in its closed end; a flange mounted about such aperture within said casing; a brush mounted upon the closed end of said casing; an oscillatorily mounted hollow shaft disposed within said flange; a second brush removal). y mounted on, and driven by, said shaft; a rod reciprocably mounted. within said shaft and bearing said second brush; and means adapted to reciprocate said rod, thereby raising said second brush away from said firstnamed brush.

6. In a glove cleaning machine, the com bination of a vertically disposed, cylindrical casing open at its upper end and provided with a central aperture in its lower, closed end; a flange mounted about such aperture within said casing; a brush mounted upon the closed end of said casing; an oscillatorily mounted hollow shaft extending within such aperture; a second brush normally resting upon, and supported and driven by, said shaft; the weight of said brush maintaining the same against the gloves disposed upon said first-named brush with a certain amount of pressure; a rod reciprocably mounted within said shaft and adapted, when raised, to contact and lift said second brush from off said shaft; a pivotally mounted lever connected. to said rod, and adapted, when operated, to raise the sam said lever being provided with a weight receiving platform, the addition of weights to said lever tending to raise said rod and said brush and decreasing the pressure of the latter against the gloves upon said first-named brush.

7. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination of a vertically disposed, cylindrical casing open at its upper end and provided with a central aperture in its lower, closed end; a flange mounted about such aperture within said casing; a brush mounted upon the closed end of said casing; an oscillatorily mounted hollow shaft extending within sucl aperture; a second brush normally resting upon, and supported and driven by, said shaft; the weight of said brush maintaining the same against the gloves disposed upon said first-named brush with a certain amount of pressure; a rod reciprocably mounted within said shaft and adapted, when raised, to contact and lift said second brush from oil said shaft; a pivotally mounted lever connected to said rod, and adapted, when operated, to raise the same; said lever being provided with a weight receiving platform, the addition of weights to said lever tending to raise said rod and said brush and decreasing the pressure of the latter against the gloves upon said first-named brush; and said second brush also being provided with a weight-receiving platform, the addition of weights to said brush increasing the pressure of the latter against the gloves upon said first-named brush.

8. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination of a casing open at one end and pro vided with a central aperture in it's closed end; a flange mounted within said casing about such aperture; a shaft extending through said flange; a second brush slidably but non-rotatably supported upon said shaft, said brush fitting snugly but slidably around the outer wall of said flange in said casing in order to maintain said second brush in such parallel relation during such movement; and means adapted to reciprocate said second brush and to thereupon support the same, raising said brush from off said shaft.

9. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination of a cylindrical casing open at one end and provided with a central aperture in its closed end; a flange mounted about such aperture within said casing; a brush mounted upon the closed end of said casing; a rod reciprocably mounted within said flange; a second brush mounted in said casing above said first-named brush; means adapted to normally support said brush and to operate the same; and other means connected to said rod and adapted to reciprocate the same, said. rod thereupon contacting said second brush and raising the same from off said first-named means.

10. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination of a casing adapted to contain a cleaning solution; a brush fixedly mounted upon the bottom of said casing; a second brush reciprocably mounted above said firstnamed brush and being provided with radially arranged drainage slots and annular guiderails to direct the cleaning solution through such drainage slots when said second-named brush is raised.

11. In a glove cleaning machine, the combination of an open casing adapted to contain a cleaning solution, a cover closing the open portion of said casing, a brush fixedly mounted in said casing, a second brush co operatively mounted with respect to said fixed brush; and means for separating said brushes and simultaneously raising said cover.

Signed by me, this 17th day of February,

ARTHUR It. CURTIS. Attested by H. B. F AY, A. L. GILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner ot Patenta,

Washington, D. C. 

